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Study Shows That Ferrari Drivers Don’t Generally Enjoy Driving

March 18, 2013 at 2:36 pm

2013 Ferrari California (credit: Ferrari S.p.A.)

Owning a Ferrari is the dream of many car enthusiasts the world over, since the iconic Italian brand is forever linked with performance and handling. According to a new United Kingdom study conducted by insurer AXA Group, you’d probably be happier behind the wheel of a BMW or an Aston Martin.

The study surveyed 2,000 drivers from the U.K. on a variety of factors relating to happiness behind the wheel, and the results may be a bit surprising. Overall, 69-percent of motorists claimed to enjoy driving, with only 20-percent viewing it only as a necessary evil.

Among all brands, BMW drivers were happiest, with 82-percent savoring the time spent in their vehicles. Aston Martin drivers were next-happiest (78-percent), followed by Lexus (also 78-percent), Seat (76-percent) and Peugeot (75-percent).

Ferrari drivers, surprisingly enough, scored below the average for driving enjoyment. Only 57-percent of those surveyed found driving to be an entertaining task, likely due to factors such as cost of ownership, ever-tightening regulations and traffic congestion on public roads.

Land Rover owners weren’t particularly happy, either, with just 59-percent enjoying the daily commute. That’s still better than Volvo owners, of which only 46-percent relish time spent at the helm.

MINI drivers are 73-percent happy, putting the brand on par with Seat and Peugeot. That seems to back up our theory that driving a slow car fast is far more entertaining than driving a fast car slow.

In fact, our vision of heaven involves a Mazda MX-5 with a bottomless fuel tank on an endless, winding road. Hell, to us, would be an eternity spent behind the wheel of a Ferrari F40, stuck behind a gaggle of Toyota Camrys circulating the Nürburgring Nordschleife at a maximum speed of 40 mph.